Ephinea Cooking Thread

Tonight's dinner is... A complete cheat, lol. The Wife and I are both going to be busy until too late to do real cooking, and I didn't remember that until too late to get something in the slow cooker. We're just picking up pizza on the way home from our last errand. :p

At least it's not some hot garbage pizza from a massive chain store... We've got a really good local joint that makes their own dough and sauce daily; it's good, and not too pricey, either. They can even make a plain slice of cheese and pineapple edible, lol!

http://www.smugspizza.com/
 
Tonight's dinner is... A complete cheat, lol. The Wife and I are both going to be busy until too late to do real cooking, and I didn't remember that until too late to get something in the slow cooker. We're just picking up pizza on the way home from our last errand. :p

At least it's not some hot garbage pizza from a massive chain store... We've got a really good local joint that makes their own dough and sauce daily; it's good, and not too pricey, either. They can even make a plain slice of cheese and pineapple edible, lol!

http://www.smugspizza.com/
MOST mom and pop private pizza places would mop the floors with ANY Pizza chain!
 
Just about to head off to bed, having started tomorrow night's dinner in the slow cooker: the beginnings of a big pot of chili. We are having company over for only the second time since The Big Sniffles started, so I'm choosing something that's easy to make well for a bunch of people. :p I'm aiming for a 5:30 PM dinner service.

I always start the sauce the night before, because cooking everything down like my recipe calls for takes simply AGES, lol. It starts with two big cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes, which I manually dice up, along with one large green bell pepper and one middling red bell pepper, and one small yellow onion. I also chop the veg for the rest of the recipe the night before- I've got a vacuum sealer, so it hurts nothing to get all the prep out of the way, and makes cleaning up later around guests much less stressful, lol.

When I get up (probably about 6 hours after the pot started, sort of 6 AM-ish... I don't sleep much, lol!) I toss in a few diced serrano peppers, one coarsely diced carrot, one finely chopped celery stalk, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy paste, a few drops of liquid smoke, garlic, basil, and plenty of Mexican oregano to get the seasoning started. (I never salt until the last 45 minutes or so before serving.) I'll also be opening the beans and adding a bit of the juice from them to the pot, about 1/3 of each can, reserving the rest to cover the beans until they go in the pot; I use 32-point-something-ounce cans, one each of dark red kidney beans, light red kidney beans, and pinto beans. I'll be stirring in a pint of stout at the same time, and bumping the heat from Low to Medium.

Later on I've got beef three ways to go in it: chunks of stew beef that get a quick sear in a pan and then go into the chili with around 2:30 PM to braise to a nice tender state; ground beef to be browned off with chili flakes, salt, and a bit of cumin before going into the chili about 90 minutes before dinner, so 4:00 PM or so ; and grilled London broil left from tonight's dinner, sliced thin and going in ~15 minutes before it's served (long enough to get hot, not so long it falls apart.)

The beans go in with the stew beef chunks, when there's about three hours left until dinner, and the bean juice left over gets saved for other cooking projects. (Chickpeas aren't the only beans that have a juice with enough starch to be useful, if you're creative...) I also add 1 cup of Dr. Pepper at this point, which is the only sweetness not coming from the vegetables.

I'll be making two batches of cornbread muffins to go with, one with jalapenos and one without since The Wife doesn't like spicy stuff. To top there's going to be both mild and extra sharp cheddar- freshly grated of course- and chopped onions in both green and white. I also have oyster crackers and cheese puffs (both crunchy and poofy) on hand, and some Fritos Scoops, so I'm pretty sure we're covered. Oh, and I'll be making spaghetti to put it over, just in case anyone wants theirs Skyline style (a Cincinnati favorite.)

Around gorging on that, we have a (theoretically) six hour D&D session. Hopefully it's as fun a day as we're all trying to make it... Fingers crossed! :)
 
Just about to head off to bed, having started tomorrow night's dinner in the slow cooker: the beginnings of a big pot of chili. We are having company over for only the second time since The Big Sniffles started, so I'm choosing something that's easy to make well for a bunch of people. :p I'm aiming for a 5:30 PM dinner service.

I always start the sauce the night before, because cooking everything down like my recipe calls for takes simply AGES, lol. It starts with two big cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes, which I manually dice up, along with one large green bell pepper and one middling red bell pepper, and one small yellow onion. I also chop the veg for the rest of the recipe the night before- I've got a vacuum sealer, so it hurts nothing to get all the prep out of the way, and makes cleaning up later around guests much less stressful, lol.

When I get up (probably about 6 hours after the pot started, sort of 6 AM-ish... I don't sleep much, lol!) I toss in a few diced serrano peppers, one coarsely diced carrot, one finely chopped celery stalk, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy paste, a few drops of liquid smoke, garlic, basil, and plenty of Mexican oregano to get the seasoning started. (I never salt until the last 45 minutes or so before serving.) I'll also be opening the beans and adding a bit of the juice from them to the pot, about 1/3 of each can, reserving the rest to cover the beans until they go in the pot; I use 32-point-something-ounce cans, one each of dark red kidney beans, light red kidney beans, and pinto beans. I'll be stirring in a pint of stout at the same time, and bumping the heat from Low to Medium.

Later on I've got beef three ways to go in it: chunks of stew beef that get a quick sear in a pan and then go into the chili with around 2:30 PM to braise to a nice tender state; ground beef to be browned off with chili flakes, salt, and a bit of cumin before going into the chili about 90 minutes before dinner, so 4:00 PM or so ; and grilled London broil left from tonight's dinner, sliced thin and going in ~15 minutes before it's served (long enough to get hot, not so long it falls apart.)

The beans go in with the stew beef chunks, when there's about three hours left until dinner, and the bean juice left over gets saved for other cooking projects. (Chickpeas aren't the only beans that have a juice with enough starch to be useful, if you're creative...) I also add 1 cup of Dr. Pepper at this point, which is the only sweetness not coming from the vegetables.

I'll be making two batches of cornbread muffins to go with, one with jalapenos and one without since The Wife doesn't like spicy stuff. To top there's going to be both mild and extra sharp cheddar- freshly grated of course- and chopped onions in both green and white. I also have oyster crackers and cheese puffs (both crunchy and poofy) on hand, and some Fritos Scoops, so I'm pretty sure we're covered. Oh, and I'll be making spaghetti to put it over, just in case anyone wants theirs Skyline style (a Cincinnati favorite.)

Around gorging on that, we have a (theoretically) six hour D&D session. Hopefully it's as fun a day as we're all trying to make it... Fingers crossed! :)
CHILLIIIIIiiii~! <3! Mew's D&D sessions usually lasted 7pm to 2/3am too! But, our nomz of choice were either Hot Pockets, tater tots, and Mountain Dew......LOTS of Mountain Dew!!! XD!
 
CHILLIIIIIiiii~! <3! Mew's D&D sessions usually lasted 7pm to 2/3am too! But, our nomz of choice were either Hot Pockets, tater tots, and Mountain Dew......LOTS of Mountain Dew!!! XD!

LOL, I remember those days... But now that I'm in my 40's and have both less stamina and more responsibility, I don't really go in for the marathon sessions anymore. Once in a while, when the game is really rocking and everyone is down for it, sure; just not as a general rule. That session was one ending in a boss fight, though... It was a super epic session that ended up taking almost nine hours, if you count the three breaks we took for food, leg stretches and using the bathroom.

Since no one else in the game plays here, I'm free to say this: the party is gonna blow their stacks in a couple months when they find out they didn't actually kill the lady wizard that is the boss, just the duplicate that is the result of her having used the Simulacrum spell, lol... Mwahahaha! (If you don't get how evil that is, just Google 'D&D 5E Simulacrum spell' and you'll understand, lol.)

The chili was a big hit- although it did mostly ended up being more like a dip, just being something scooped up with a chip, veggies, or cheesy poofs. A few players had their minds blown by the idea of Skyline Chili, though, so that was a nice bonus.

On to another note...

Tonight's dinner was a cross-Asian inspired noodle dish.

I took chicken thighs and marinated them in soy sauce, fish sauce, grated ginger, and lemon juice over night; then I grilled them. While the chicken was grilling I tossed some coarsely chopped seaweed snack squares, saffron threads, bay leaves, toasted sesame seeds. and oolong tea into a pot with a few quarts of water, and simmered it to make a broth. When the chicken was nicely cooked (including a bit of char around the edges) it was coarsely chopped and stir fried with carrots and water chestnuts in a good, heavy steel wok; and as soon as the chicken hit the wok I tossed a couple bundles of buckwheat soba noodles into the broth I'd made. As soon as the veggies reached the stage where they were fully cooked but not yet soft, I pulled them out and removed the noodles & broth from the heat.

The noodles and broth were evenly distributed into heavy ceramic serving dishes. (Keeping the broth hot is important to the final product, so a heavy bowl is better than a light, thin one.) Then the chicken and veggies were added on top, followed by thin slices of daikon radish, a bunch of fresh bean sprouts, a sprinkling of thin-chopped spring onion, and a few drops of sesame oil.

Most of it came out really tasty, but I messed up my timing on the noodles. The broth, veggies, and meat were tasty, but the noodles were pasty and just... bleh. I need to get better at timing the cooking buckwheat noodles; they cross the line from 'nicely cooked' to 'primary school paste' faster than I expected.
 
On another note... I've made a friend recently who has a lot of dietary restrictions. She has a lot of health issues that influence her life in strict ways, including Lupus, Celiac's Disease, and Lyme Disease, so she has a LOT of food restriction issues. As one who likes to lay on a spread when company comes over, this is very frustrating for me.

Does anyone have any tasty recipes to share that (A) don't use a sweetener other than palm sugar or raw honey, (B) don't use gluten, (C) don't use gelatin, and (D) don't use meat?
 
On another note... I've made a friend recently who has a lot of dietary restrictions. She has a lot of health issues that influence her life in strict ways, including Lupus, Celiac's Disease, and Lyme Disease, so she has a LOT of food restriction issues. As one who likes to lay on a spread when company comes over, this is very frustrating for me.

Does anyone have any tasty recipes to share that (A) don't use a sweetener other than palm sugar or raw honey, (B) don't use gluten, (C) don't use gelatin, and (D) don't use meat?
Vegan pizza with buckwheat flour (no yeast) also some people dont like the taste so you can use coconut flour instead and you can make Moxxorella (unless she can eat real cheese) for it and sauce.
 
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LOL, I remember those days... But now that I'm in my 40's and have both less stamina and more responsibility, I don't really go in for the marathon sessions anymore. Once in a while, when the game is really rocking and everyone is down for it, sure; just not as a general rule. That session was one ending in a boss fight, though... It was a super epic session that ended up taking almost nine hours, if you count the three breaks we took for food, leg stretches and using the bathroom.

Since no one else in the game plays here, I'm free to say this: the party is gonna blow their stacks in a couple months when they find out they didn't actually kill the lady wizard that is the boss, just the duplicate that is the result of her having used the Simulacrum spell, lol... Mwahahaha! (If you don't get how evil that is, just Google 'D&D 5E Simulacrum spell' and you'll understand, lol.)

The chili was a big hit- although it did mostly ended up being more like a dip, just being something scooped up with a chip, veggies, or cheesy poofs. A few players had their minds blown by the idea of Skyline Chili, though, so that was a nice bonus.

On to another note...

Tonight's dinner was a cross-Asian inspired noodle dish.

I took chicken thighs and marinated them in soy sauce, fish sauce, grated ginger, and lemon juice over night; then I grilled them. While the chicken was grilling I tossed some coarsely chopped seaweed snack squares, saffron threads, bay leaves, toasted sesame seeds. and oolong tea into a pot with a few quarts of water, and simmered it to make a broth. When the chicken was nicely cooked (including a bit of char around the edges) it was coarsely chopped and stir fried with carrots and water chestnuts in a good, heavy steel wok; and as soon as the chicken hit the wok I tossed a couple bundles of buckwheat soba noodles into the broth I'd made. As soon as the veggies reached the stage where they were fully cooked but not yet soft, I pulled them out and removed the noodles & broth from the heat.

The noodles and broth were evenly distributed into heavy ceramic serving dishes. (Keeping the broth hot is important to the final product, so a heavy bowl is better than a light, thin one.) Then the chicken and veggies were added on top, followed by thin slices of daikon radish, a bunch of fresh bean sprouts, a sprinkling of thin-chopped spring onion, and a few drops of sesame oil.

Most of it came out really tasty, but I messed up my timing on the noodles. The broth, veggies, and meat were tasty, but the noodles were pasty and just... bleh. I need to get better at timing the cooking buckwheat noodles; they cross the line from 'nicely cooked' to 'primary school paste' faster than I expected.
Mew was often a DM for most part of 40 years lol. Best part of it later in life, while in the military...turns out Army friends were far more imaginative than mew's childhood friends at home! While childhood friends would hang on you every word of what's happening with THEIR characters...mew spent a lot of her time getting blipped in the face by a tiny rolled up wad of paper with a secret message of what one party member was attempting to do to another!! Savages! X'D!
Never heard or used Simulacrum spells....but mew was VERY Fond of RED or Gold Dragons in disguise!! Another favorite tactic of mew was the party happening upon a simple well of water in the center of a vegetative room....Any who gazed in it would see the ONE thing they MOST desired... This was mostly for that ONE purrson in Every party lusting after a VORPAL BLADE! Mew would smile evilly and purr seductively..."You see it...the object of your desire....your destiny...it's midnight starlit scabbard with gilded silver hilt...Slapping the toned and naked thigh of a female DROW Elf on patrol!!" XD!
 
Mew was often a DM for most part of 40 years lol. Best part of it later in life, while in the military...turns out Army friends were far more imaginative than mew's childhood friends at home! While childhood friends would hang on you every word of what's happening with THEIR characters...mew spent a lot of her time getting blipped in the face by a tiny rolled up wad of paper with a secret message of what one party member was attempting to do to another!! Savages! X'D!
Oh, I so feel your pain, lol... But at the same time, those little personal moments lead to some really epic moments in the game, so it's also a huge joy! :D

I didn't serve in the military, but my little brother did; he was in the US Navy, an ET-5 when he decided to call it a day for mental health reasons. He'd been stationed in San Diego for most of his 12 years, helping build and repair ships. He had an ongoing game for like half that time, with a few guys who were regulars and lots of open chairs for whomever wanted to play a game or two while they were on leave in port. He had a rule that when you left the game on deployment, you left your character sheet with him. If you didn't come home, your character became an NPC in his world, a sort of valkyrie-esque warrior of the gods who would give the PC's missions from on high, or appear to help them in dire moments.

*sigh*

I love my li'l bro, but every time I think about the number of angels in his pantheon it makes me a little sad. Proud, too, of course, since he found a way of giving those players a tiny touch of immortality... But sad none the less because I know the number of "angels" is well into the double digits.

Never heard or used Simulacrum spells....

It's a 5th Edition spell... It lets a Bard/Sorcerer/Wizard of high enough level basically make a clone of themself. It can't regain spells by resting, so once the clone casts all of the spells it was made with, it's basically just a really healthy peasant... But when the players are expecting a boss fight and find out later it was a glorified illusion... Mwahahaha! :eek::mad:
 
Oh, I so feel your pain, lol... But at the same time, those little personal moments lead to some really epic moments in the game, so it's also a huge joy! :D

I didn't serve in the military, but my little brother did; he was in the US Navy, an ET-5 when he decided to call it a day for mental health reasons. He'd been stationed in San Diego for most of his 12 years, helping build and repair ships. He had an ongoing game for like half that time, with a few guys who were regulars and lots of open chairs for whomever wanted to play a game or two while they were on leave in port. He had a rule that when you left the game on deployment, you left your character sheet with him. If you didn't come home, your character became an NPC in his world, a sort of valkyrie-esque warrior of the gods who would give the PC's missions from on high, or appear to help them in dire moments.

*sigh*

I love my li'l bro, but every time I think about the number of angels in his pantheon it makes me a little sad. Proud, too, of course, since he found a way of giving those players a tiny touch of immortality... But sad none the less because I know the number of "angels" is well into the double digits.



It's a 5th Edition spell... It lets a Bard/Sorcerer/Wizard of high enough level basically make a clone of themself. It can't regain spells by resting, so once the clone casts all of the spells it was made with, it's basically just a really healthy peasant... But when the players are expecting a boss fight and find out later it was a glorified illusion... Mwahahaha! :eek::mad:
"when you left the game on deployment, you left your character sheet with him. If you didn't come home, your character became an NPC in his world," THIS made mew's eyes well up! =')
 
I modified a smoothie recipe I found online today - intended for people who need a big boost of iron and vitamin intake.
It's to help my GF who's bruising up like an overripe banana every time she lightly taps up against something and is becoming increasingly tired, and I thought I might share it for anyone else with similar issues.

A fair warning for anybody making it - It smells a tiny bit evil and looks like a product Gruntilda made!
Don't worry that you've screwed it up, this is unfortunately normal - but the taste is actually pretty decent as long as you keep it nice and cold and shake it up immediately before you drink it.

1 Kiwi fruit
1 Cup green grapes
2 Cups baby spinach
2 Cups chopped curly kale
Half a lemon squeezed
2 Cups orange juice
A little ice to keep it cool while blending

My substitutions against the original recipe:
Half a lemon squeezed in place of 2 peeled wedges
- Peeled wedges are an ass to do, this is a laziness thing that happens to work out well if you like it slightly more tangy.
2 cups orange juice in place of 2 cups water
- Original recipe calls for water and then an unspecified sweetener of an unspecified amount, I cut the uncertainty and went with a classic filler juice.
 
I modified a smoothie recipe I found online today - intended for people who need a big boost of iron and vitamin intake.
It's to help my GF who's bruising up like an overripe banana every time she lightly taps up against something and is becoming increasingly tired, and I thought I might share it for anyone else with similar issues.

A fair warning for anybody making it - It smells a tiny bit evil and looks like a product Gruntilda made!
Don't worry that you've screwed it up, this is unfortunately normal - but the taste is actually pretty decent as long as you keep it nice and cold and shake it up immediately before you drink it.

1 Kiwi fruit
1 Cup green grapes
2 Cups baby spinach
2 Cups chopped curly kale
Half a lemon squeezed
2 Cups orange juice
A little ice to keep it cool while blending

My substitutions against the original recipe:
Half a lemon squeezed in place of 2 peeled wedges
- Peeled wedges are an ass to do, this is a laziness thing that happens to work out well if you like it slightly more tangy.
2 cups orange juice in place of 2 cups water
- Original recipe calls for water and then an unspecified sweetener of an unspecified amount, I cut the uncertainty and went with a classic filler juice.
This doesn't sound half bad at all~! Think its prolly the kiwi that makes it 'smell evil' lol. =3
 
I modified a smoothie recipe I found online today - intended for people who need a big boost of iron and vitamin intake.
It's to help my GF who's bruising up like an overripe banana every time she lightly taps up against something and is becoming increasingly tired, and I thought I might share it for anyone else with similar issues.

A fair warning for anybody making it - It smells a tiny bit evil and looks like a product Gruntilda made!
Don't worry that you've screwed it up, this is unfortunately normal - but the taste is actually pretty decent as long as you keep it nice and cold and shake it up immediately before you drink it.

1 Kiwi fruit
1 Cup green grapes
2 Cups baby spinach
2 Cups chopped curly kale
Half a lemon squeezed
2 Cups orange juice
A little ice to keep it cool while blending

My substitutions against the original recipe:
Half a lemon squeezed in place of 2 peeled wedges
- Peeled wedges are an ass to do, this is a laziness thing that happens to work out well if you like it slightly more tangy.
2 cups orange juice in place of 2 cups water
- Original recipe calls for water and then an unspecified sweetener of an unspecified amount, I cut the uncertainty and went with a classic filler juice.
That actually sounds pretty tasty... I might give it a try. I'll probably freeze the orange juice into cubes and use them in place of plain ice, though, to kill two birds with one stone. I might also try tossing in other things to add to the over-all nutrient content- a banana, some pecans, cranberries, soy milk, coconut water, stuff like that.

As far as the original recipe goes, for a sweetener, if you can get it I suggest locally sourced honey. I've read a lot of studies showing strong links between eating a small amount of locally sourced honey and a reduction in allergic reactions caused by the local flora- grass, ragweed, plant pollen, etc. If that's not an option (and it very well might not be, either for lack of availability or the tendency to be pretty expensive) I'm a big fan of ones based on stevia leaf extract... Sweeteners based on cane sugar and corn syrup tend to have a not-so-healthy glycemic index rating, so too much isn't great.
 
Had dinner with my neighbor last night. His parents have been in town visiting, and his Dad was lamenting how he can't get a "proper" creamed chicken over biscuits without visiting family, ever since he moved out of the Midwest back in the 1980's. Further talk lead me to find out he grew up only like 150 miles from where I did, so I decided to bust out my mom's recipe and make dinner for everyone. It was a definite hit with him (everyone else liked it too, though!) and his wife asked me to give her the recipe. Since I had to type it all out, I figured I'd take advantage of that and perform the ancient, arcane art of Ye Olde Copy-And-Paste to share it here, too, lol.


Chicken Stew
Serves 8 (ish... depends on the size of your bowl- and your appetite!)


[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]
[][][]______Part A_____The Sauce______[][][]
[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]

ONE OF:

A) 2 packets of Chicken Gravy Mix
***OR***
B) 1 Teaspoon chicken flavor 'Better Than Bouillon'
B) 2 Teaspoons corn starch

PLUS:
1 can (32 ounces) Great Northern Beans
1 can (32 ounces) Butter beans
1 small white onion, diced (about 1 cup)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
12 Saffron threads
3 medium Bay Leaves
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/4 Teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon White Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Celery Seed
3 cups Milk, warmed to at least room temperature (but not hot)
Water as needed


1.) Set your slow-cooker to preheating on Low.
***NOTE: If you're not using a slow cooker, a stew pot on the range top can work fine; in this case, cast iron is preferable as it needs less attention. However, any pot of 6 quarts or above can be made to work in a pinch, though it will need more frequent stirring to keep the stew at the bottom of the pot from burning.

2.) Heat a large sauce pan on low heat. Once up to temperature, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter. Let the butter sit until it has foamed up and then settled.

3.) Whisk in the Flour 1 teaspoon at a time. By the time all the Flour has been worked in, this should form a paste with a consistency like mashed potatoes.

4.) Whisk in the milk 1/4 cup at a time.

5.) Whisk in the White Pepper and Celery Seed.

6A.) IF USING GRAVY MIX:
Whisk in gravy mix until thoroughly blended.

6B:) IF USING 'BETTER THAN BOUILLON':
Scoop out 1/2 cup of liquid from the pan. Add the Better Than Bouillon to this liquid, stirring until they are thoroughly combined. Then add back to the pan.

7.) Add the onion, Saffron threads, Bay leaves, cayenne, and garlic.

8.) Let the mixture simmer, stirring every 3-5 minutes so that the sauce doesn't scorch to the bottom of the pan.

***NOTE: From this point through step 13 of Part A, if at any point you feel the sauce is too thick you may add water to thin it. If you do so, whisk the water in 1/4 Cup at a time, not adding more until the last has been fully incorporated for at least 1 minute; this is a very starch-filled sauce, so liquids can take longer than you might think to fully mix in. Your elevation can make a notable difference in how much water the recipe might need, too.

9.) Into a separate pot, pour both kinds of beans and the liquid from their cans, as well as 1 Tablespoon butter. Heat on low until the butter is melted and the beans are heated through.

10.) When the beans are fully heated, add to the sauce from [][] STEP 8 [][]

11.) Simmer for another 10-15 minutes, continuing to stir regularly.

12.) Remove Bay Leaves.

13.) Pour into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.***NOTE: This may take multiple batches, if your machine isn't large enough; that is fine, and you don't need to worry about getting "enough of everything" into a batch; it will have plenty of time to blend in the slow cooker later.

14.) After blending, pass through a mesh sieve or cheese cloth into a bowl, saving what passes through and discarding the solids. (The solids are mostly bean skins, onion membranes, and overcooked sauce bits.)

15.) Pour this liquid- which should be roughly a gravy consistency- into the slow cooker. Stir in 1 cup of water and cover.



[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]
[][][]_____Part B:____The Chicken_____[][][]
[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]


6 chicken thighs, skin on but de-boned
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1.) In a wide frying pan or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil until shimmering (around 300 F / 150 C.)
2.) Pat the chicken thighs dry with and season them lightly with salt and black pepper.
3.) Place the chicken thighs in pan, skin side down. (You may want to use tongs, as the oil is likely to pop and spatter.)
4.) Cook until the skin reaches a golden-brown, is generally quite firm, and is crispy along the edges.
5.) Reduce heat to medium low, flip the chicken thighs over, and cover with a lid or loose foil; be sure there is room for some steam to escape.
6.) Cook for 7-9 minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken thighs reaches 165 F / 75 C internal temperature.
7.) Remove from the pan and let rest on a cooling rack or paper towels to drain off excess fat/oil.
8.) When cool enough to work with, cut into bite-sized pieces.



[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]
[][][]______Part C:______The Stew______[][][]
[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]ooo[][][]


1 can (32 ounces) Peas, or 2 cups frozen Peas
2 cups Carrot, coarse-diced to 1/8" (pieces about the size of a pencil eraser)
2 large Potatoes, coarse-diced to 1/4" (pieces about the size of a dime)
1 Tablespoon Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

***NOTE: From here on, when you're checking on the stew you may feel the need to add some water to maintain consistency. Be aware than the vegetables will add some water when you put them in- perhaps quite a lot of water, if you're using frozen vegetables. Keep this in mind. That said, adding a certain amount of water to keep a good consistency is perfectly fine! Like in Section A, add it 1/4 Cup at a time, mix it in thoroughly, and wait a minute or two after you think it's all mixed in to see how it looks before considering adding more.

1.) Four hours before serving, add the chicken from Part B to the slow cooker.

2.) Three hours before serving, add the Potatoes and carrots.

3.) Two hours before serving, check taste. Add salt and pepper as needed.

4.) One hour before serving, add the peas and butter.


Serve in a bowl with bread and butter on the side; or pour over a plate of sliced hot biscuits with butter, jalapeno cornbread drizzled with honey, or simple oat cakes.


:::Edited for formatting issues... repeatedly, lol :rolleyes: :::
 
Mew kinda cheated today, too.... Ended up going to Wendy's for a Summer strawberry chicken salad....this what it looks like....then she remembered we has almost half a table Full of Avocadoes from our tree in the backyard....So wiff a little happy flare.....and a simple knife....NOW it's a "SALAD!" <3! =3
 

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Hey @Harborer of Hope , I gotta ask... Do you live in SoCal? My wife grew up there, and avocados are basically a religion where she grew up, lol.

I'm not a fan of avocado, myself. Not so much flavor- that's just kinda meh to me- but the texture. I'm fine with it in a dip or sauce or some such, but served in bite-sized pieces (say in a salad or something) it bothers me. It's far from the only thing that does so, mind you; plenty of other things do, too. That said, there's a bar/pub in San Jose that serves wedges of avocado fried in a beer batter tempura which is one of the best snacks I've EVER had, lol. I wish I could remember the name of the joint... It's in the historic downtown section, a surf-themed place. Actually, thinking about it a bit more... Given I haven't been there since 2016... I don't even know that it's actually still open, given effects of the pandemic. **sad face**

They made a killer burger, too... Stuffed with cream cheese and jalapenos, served on a steamed brioche with onions (both battered and fried crispy, AND caramelized into a jam-like consistency) and some purple heirloom tomatoes; and served up with thin-sliced avocado wedges, tossed in a beer-batter tempura and deep fried. Pair that with a nice Raven's Eye Imperial Stout and you've got a damned fine meal, guaranteed to make any day end on a good note!

On a totally separate note... For my next dinner I've got some boneless chicken thighs marinating in coconut milk and green curry sauce; they're going to get pan-fried tomorrow until the skin and edges are all crispy, baked until fully cooked, and then served over some jasmine rice and stir fried veggies. Nothing too complicated... I'm trying to kinda trying to let the more creative parts of my brain take a break this week and next week, lol. I can only go just so long coming up completely original recipes before I burn out and start retreading old stuff, so I'm intentionally forcing a period of "down time" before I get to that level. This lets me just make things The Wife and I liked, resting my "creative muscles" for a bit and refining existing recipes instead of needing to come up with something new every night.
 
Hey @Harborer of Hope , I gotta ask... Do you live in SoCal? My wife grew up there, and avocados are basically a religion where she grew up, lol.

I'm not a fan of avocado, myself. Not so much flavor- that's just kinda meh to me- but the texture. I'm fine with it in a dip or sauce or some such, but served in bite-sized pieces (say in a salad or something) it bothers me. It's far from the only thing that does so, mind you; plenty of other things do, too. That said, there's a bar/pub in San Jose that serves wedges of avocado fried in a beer batter tempura which is one of the best snacks I've EVER had, lol. I wish I could remember the name of the joint... It's in the historic downtown section, a surf-themed place. Actually, thinking about it a bit more... Given I haven't been there since 2016... I don't even know that it's actually still open, given effects of the pandemic. **sad face**

They made a killer burger, too... Stuffed with cream cheese and jalapenos, served on a steamed brioche with onions (both battered and fried crispy, AND caramelized into a jam-like consistency) and some purple heirloom tomatoes; and served up with thin-sliced avocado wedges, tossed in a beer-batter tempura and deep fried. Pair that with a nice Raven's Eye Imperial Stout and you've got a damned fine meal, guaranteed to make any day end on a good note!

On a totally separate note... For my next dinner I've got some boneless chicken thighs marinating in coconut milk and green curry sauce; they're going to get pan-fried tomorrow until the skin and edges are all crispy, baked until fully cooked, and then served over some jasmine rice and stir fried veggies. Nothing too complicated... I'm trying to kinda trying to let the more creative parts of my brain take a break this week and next week, lol. I can only go just so long coming up completely original recipes before I burn out and start retreading old stuff, so I'm intentionally forcing a period of "down time" before I get to that level. This lets me just make things The Wife and I liked, resting my "creative muscles" for a bit and refining existing recipes instead of needing to come up with something new every night.
Nope! Your mew mew is in sunny South Florida! Our Floridian Avocados are huge! Mew's Avocado tree in her back yard grow them the size of water bottles!
 

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Nope! Your mew mew is in sunny South Florida! Our Floridian Avocados are huge! Mew's Avocado tree in her back yard grow them the size of water bottles!
I had to ask... My wife (mostly) grew up in Fallbrook, CA, which- right or wrong- bills itself as "the avocado capital of the world", lol.
 
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